While this combination of constraints may feel relatively new in parts of Europe and North America—where civic spaces are increasingly affected by authoritarian shifts and societal polarization—other regions have a much longer history of operating under such conditions. Countries in the Middle East and North Africa, for instance, have been more deeply impacted by the human-made polycrisis, with a decade-long economic depression and a series of past and ongoing wars. Working in the civic space under these circumstances also carries emotional legacies: the recurring and burdensome question of whether to continue resisting or to surrender—often by emigrating—is a reality many grapple with.

Culture in the Civic Space in the MENA Region

Therefore, shifting an organization’s focus away from the understandable aim of sheer survival toward caring for the field it operates in may not seem intuitive—but it is deeply relevant. This became clear in the responses to our invitation to join the program “Culture in the Civic Space in the MENA Region”, which placed at its core the intention to explore and strengthen solidarity, and to understand how such an organizational shift can take shape. In autumn 2024, twelve organizations working with arts and culture in the civic space in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan accepted the invitation to join this learning journey.

To support this inquiry on both a conceptual and practical level, the program is shaped around several focus areas for learning and experimentation, including questions such as:

• What role can the organization I work for play in supporting its broader field—and what is my individual contribution to that effort?
• How is this field currently shaped, and what forms of support are needed to strengthen its health and move it toward a more desired state?
• What alternative forms of collaboration and connection could help facilitate such a development?

Creating spaces for imagination and collective resilience

One of the key approaches of the program is to create spaces for imagination—spaces where participants can observe and listen without being overwhelmed by the crises surrounding them. These moments are also used to explore new or evolving roles that help sustain a field of actors working in resistance to dominant structures. A metaphor that resonated strongly with the group was that of a marine ecosystem, which helped participants reflect on and clarify the types of support they might test within their fields.

So far, the learning conversations have surfaced several directions that will guide the program’s evolution and experimentation in 2025. Some participants perceive the program as “an invitation to think beyond ourselves—to think about other people and entities—which expands ourselves.” Furthermore, different constellations of organizations will examine, for instance, alternative funding models and decentralized approaches to support field health. Others will explore how roles such as support structures or collaboration facilitators might contribute to healing, adapting, and growing spaces of action for a shared purpose. Inspired by conversations around keystone species—like the starfish in marine ecosystems—another thread of inquiry focuses on the potential qualities of a resilience-building role that helps teams navigate and adapt to challenging conditions.

Prototyping pathways for field support

These explorations connect well to the organizational journeys that participants will embark on and that reflect the direction inspired by the Learning Journey so far. For example:

• Hassala will explore ways to set up a “trust fund” for independent filmmaking in Egypt.
• Al-Badil will experiment with participatory methods to map the arts and culture ecosystem in Tunisia and support the mobility of artists between rural and urban contexts through small-scale travel grants and gatherings.
• Khidr is piloting cooperative and decentralized fundraising models to support ecological restoration and food sovereignty projects. Alongside this, Khidr is creating opportunities for collaboration between artist and farmers—using artistic practices to surface authentic relationships to land, highlight endemic plant life, and make ecological knowledge more visible. These efforts will take shape through community gardens, workshops, and public events, aiming to strengthen local food systems.

Together, these experiments reflect on the supportive roles that organizations can play in reimagining how arts and cultural ecosystems within the civic space in the region might evolve toward greater resilience. By placing imagination, purpose, and field support at the core of their work, each organization is deepening its own learning practice contributes to a broader, collective journey as well—one that opens up new possibilities for the future of civic space in the region.

The iac Berlin will run this program from 2024 to 2026 also with the aim to establish a caring role for Field Supporters which can be handed over to one or more organizations from the region in its final phase. The program is funded by the Ford Foundation.

Our work is made possible thanks to the support and collaboration of so many colleagues and partners. It is a privilege to be connected to all of you through our shared ambitions and initiatives.

If we piqued your curiosity and you would like to find out more, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us!

This article has been taken from our Activity Report 2024. You can download the entire publication here: